The Premiere: Integrity Convention 2013 - Day I

November 1, 2013

The annual Integrity Toys convention is always a major event both for the company and the many fashion doll collectors that covet the exclusive dolls presented during the proceedings. It is also the moment of the year when important announcements are made for the company's future collections. The first day was Thursday, 31st of October, Halloween! Let's see what happened over in Los Angeles, where the event takes place this year. It is called The Premiere, probably because the new FR doll body is officially premièring in this collection (it unnoficially made its début with the exclusive FR2 Purity Dasha doll). It also celebrates ten years of annual conventions, making it even more special.

First thing to do when attending a convention is, of course, registering! Each guest received a welcome swag bag that contained a welcome envelope, a copy of the latest DOLLS Magazine and as is the norm these past few years, a doll: this time it was an FR:Monogram doll which will probably become a giftset with various outfits and accessories given throughout the duration of the convention. She is a lovely Monogram and one of the last released as the line will be discontinued.

Item # 93032
Interlude
FR: Monogram™
Welcome Doll
2013 Convention Exclusive

Although the workshops that are part of the convention are starting on Friday, the attendees received their kits upon registration - more dolls!

Item # 76012
Victorious Glamour
Victoire Roux™
Workshop Doll
2013 Convention Exclusive

Another beautiful Victoire, fpr me one of the best released so far. She has a dress too, although usually the workshop dolls come nude.

Item # PP058
Poppy's Makeup Makeover
Poppy Parker™
Workshop Doll
2013 Convention Collection Exclusive

This Poppy is ready for her make up session! Simple yet lovely. Workshop Poppy dolls are usually extremely popular.

Item # 93034
Shining Star
FR: Monogram™
Workshop Doll
2013 Convention Exclusive

Another Monogram doll! They might be discontinued but they will go out with a bang. She's very beautiful and makes me wonder why the last couple of years of this line did not have dolls like this in their collections. Sigh.

Item # 91314A
W Cosmetics Hair Care
Fashion Royalty®
Workshop Doll
2013 Convention Exclusive

This is an Elise doll, one of the best Elise releases I have seen. She has the new FR2 body like Purity Dasha and the rest of the FR convention collection. Wish I could get this one but it will definitely have a forbidding price on the secondary market.

The evening had an event scheduled in the ballroom and attendees could wear their Halloween costume! There was a costume parade so that everyone could admire the effort and imagination of the costumed members! People who had attended all ten conventions got a silver trophy from Integrity as a memento. Of course there was a centerpiece doll for the event, and this was none other than...

Item # 91329
After Tonight
Eugenia Perrin-Frost™
Dressed Doll
2013 Convention Exclusive Centerpiece

She's breathtakingly beautiful and very retro looking. With the grey brows, she reminds me of Gene Marshall. Pity the full skirt hides the pink booties! The centerpiece dolls are raffled to their respective tables so there were some really happy people coming out of that ballroom! But everyone got a doll: there was one as a give away and it was...

Item # 91330
Nightfall
Agnes Von Weiss™
Dressed Doll
2013 Convention Exclusive Giveaway

A tan Agnes is surely a great way to end the first day of the convention. Which also included the presentation of the convention collection, coming up in the next post.

**All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2013 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.**

Take The Picture! - Jo Stockton in Funny Face doll by Integrity Toys

October 28, 2013

The Funny Face collection is one of the best doll ensembles that Integrity Toys (or any doll company for that matter) has ever released. Each and every doll in it stands out, portraying one of the characters of the film with one ore more ensembles to evoke certain film moment. Arguably, the most iconic scene in the film is the one where Audrey Hepburn is being photographed as Jo Stockton by Fred Astaire as Dick Avery (Dick Avedon of course) as she descends the Louvre stairs beneath the statue of the Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace. While she does that, she's shouting to him, "Take the picture!" as she's on the move, stepping down, waving her muslin shawl above her, in an effort to mimic the statue's pose. This is the moment that the "Take The Picture!" doll represents. And it does so perfectly.

I tried to re-create the scene by printing a retouched photograph of it (the retouching involved removing Audrey from it). Then strings, lighting and a feeble wind machine (a small heater actually with the temperature set to zero) came to the rescue. Wish I had a proper fan to blow that shawl properly.

The doll is amazing. As mentioned at the presentation, she uses the Poppy Parker body, but it is the one used for the Breakfast At Tiffany's dolls: this means no ankle joint. The foot is made for kitten heels, which absolutely fits the film and Audrey's outfits. It also offers a better looking result. I know this is not to everyone's liking but for this doll, in my opinion, works best.

The dress is a faithful recreation of the costume from the film, with the small neat bows on the top and bottom, the slit at the back and the two panels that form trains behind. The shawl is here of course, as are the gloves (elbow length), which are slightly better than the usual mitten-type ones (and get even better with some water sculpting) and kitten heel red fabric shoes. The quality of craftsmanship is very high.

The doll has the original iconic Vanessa Perrin sculpt, used here to perfection. She also reminds me a lot of Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary from Downton Abbey, much like the Let's Kiss And Make Up doll does (with the Vanessa 2.0 sculpt). Not a bad thing at all. She also has an extra pair of hands. Her face paint is gorgeous, in two shades of brown and full red lips. Her hair is neatly gathered into a chignon at the back, with a side part at the front and her long bangs swept to the side over her forehead.

The most impressive of her accessories is of course her necklace. It is intricately made, with lots of different colour and size stones set in it. It proves that when Integrity wants to, it can make marvels. A pair of earrings with two stones each (white and red) finishes off the set. Below is a photograph of the necklace with the top of the dress pulled down to show it off in its entire length.

Emiliacouture - creativity in new heights

October 21, 2013

Emiliacouture is run by the extraordinary talented Emilia Nieminen. She began with creating fashions for dolls but she kept on trying to create her own doll, one to match her own aesthetic. She has the Inamorata dolls, who have a ball-jointed body (BJD) and are 16" tall, made of polyurethane resin and have 21 points of articulation. They have two sculpts up to now, Miao and Nnaji, who share six different skin tones. She releases limited editions of dolls and fashions every now and then, which all sell out almost immediately. She also does one-of-a-kind commissions.

The Vertebrata fashion is extraordinary and is a dress that Tierry Mygler would kill to have in one of his collections - even though it is somewhere between Mygler and something Alexander McQueen would make. There were two colour variants: Dust in a Limited Edition of 20 and Nude (already sold out) in a limited edition of 10, each at US $199.

Dust is a 2-tone cross weave silk of powder pink and black making the fabric an elegant dusty grey with a mauve hue. The Dust silk is coarse dupioni with a raw feel to it and the trail of the gown is a matching colour soft netting. The Nude is a luxurious silk satin in toned down shade of pale powder beige. The trail of the gown is a matching colour soft netting with golden hue.

The colour variation share accessories in beige leatherette: three strap pumps with golden edgy spine heels and a clutch with metal corners. Amazing detail and design.

The focal points of the Vertebrata gowns are the metal ornaments on the shoulders and a pale gold spine snaking down the naked back. The detail is incredible and looks extremely well made and thought. The Vertebrata also fits Numina Devon and Ajuma.

The Cherub is a new doll from Emiliacouture. She has the Inamorata Nnaji sculpt in Chocolate skin tone and comes with flocked hair and basic lingerie. She wears a strapless under-wire bra in intricate white lace and matching panties. Her shoes are white leatherette between toe sandals featuring the Art Nouveau serpent heels in glossy black.

According to her angelic origins Cherub wears a gold leatherette harness with a pair of metal wings. Cherub has brown eyes with with a gentle expression with subtle amusement. Her make up has a black cat's eye eye-liner, warm brown hues on her top lid and smoky hue eye shadow below the eyes, and coffee coloured lips parted to reveal upper teeth. Her applied lashes are medium length and nail polish is coffee black.

The flock hair is great with traditional wigs as it gives a good grip to hold the wig firmly in place. However, this means she cannot share Inamorata size hard cap wigs. If you want to wash the flock off email Emilia for a safe tutorial. She also had 2 Cherubs bald.

The doll is a limited edition of 20 and costs US $475. She is sold out. And how could she not be? Emilia's dolls and fashions are of exquisite quality and a particular aesthetic that makes certain of their popularity. Just like my favourite fashion of hers, on the Mirrorball OOAK doll below, who received a DOLLS Industry Award of Excellence at IDEX 2013 - well done Emilia!

Marshalka's Dolls blog interviewed me!

October 19, 2013

It is always a pleasure to be interviewed about my doll and doll blog, an even greater one when the request comes from another doll blogger/collector. Magdalena has the Marshalka's Dolls blog, we have a great friendship on-line so I was really happy to oblige to her request and talk about my collection on her blog. Read the post here. Thank you Magdalena!

Beauty and The Beast with a twist - as Nu Fantasy characters by Integrity Toys

October 10, 2013

Today a new pair of Nu Fantasy dolls are available at all Integrity Toys dealers. As before, with the Hansel & Gretel pair, the company releases a famous fairy-tale duo, re-done to match the modern fashion aesthetics of the Nu Face line. This amalgamation of characteristics is always the strong element of the Nu Fantasy line. This time around it is Beauty and The Beast that gets the treatment, but with a catch: Beauty is the male character here, with Beast being a sizzling-hot lady.

Item # 75009
Beauty
The Nu.Fantasy™ Collection
Limited Edition of 800 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $125.00 USD
Estimated Ship Date: Approximately the Week of November 20th, 2013

Doll Tech Specs:
Body Type: FR: Homme (12.5 inch)
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Japan
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eyelashes: No
Package Dimensions: 9" X 15" X 3"

Beauty is male and who better to embody this than the ever popular Lukas Maverick sculpt. The doll wears a multi-layered look that consists of a tailored, long evening coat over a matching fashionable shirt and vest combination. His hair is coiffed in the latest hip style popular with fashionistas and his face reminds me a bit of Ringmaster Lukas - it must be the blue eyes. If you hurry, you might be able to pick the last one, he's THAT popular.

Item # 75010
Beast
The Nu.Fantasy™ Collection
Limited Edition of 800 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $125.00 USD
Estimated Ship Date: Approximately the Week of November 20th, 2013

Doll Tech Specs:
Body Type: FR2 2.0 (12 inch)
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: FR White (Caucasian)
Hair Color: Light Brown with Golden Highlights
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand Applied
Package Dimensions: 9" X 15" X 3"

In a great twist, Beast is a woman! A fashion beast that roams the forest of haute couture, LOL. This doll features the sculpt of the Pizzazz character from the Jem & The Holograms line of dolls, making its début in the Nu.Fantasy collection. It was not mentioned officially in the Integrity W Club newsletter (probably for copyright issues) but was later confirmed. She is dressed in black "leather" pants, a red bustier with a long layered skirt and knee high boots.

The dolls are sold separately but many dealers chose to sell them as a pair, to avoid having left-over Beast dolls, as Lukas is the sure-fire hit of this lot. Beast looks great though and I suspect once she changes into a tailored suit, she will break many hearts. And she has the new FR2 body which will be the norm for the former FR and FR2 characters from now on. Is this the first time a Nu Fantasy doll does not have the Nu Face body?

**Please note that the photos are of prototype dolls and subject to changes and modifications. Dolls are sold separately. All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2013 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.**

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